The Global Packaging M&A market outperformed 2023 levels in 2024 as 322 transactions were announced in the year, which was an increase of 27 deals. While transaction announcements increased year-over-year, the uptick in activity level was primarily driven by deals involving foreign buyers and sellers, which accounted for 170 deals, or 53% of the total volume for the year. Deals involving domestic parties have remained stagnant over the past three years and are well below the elevated levels experienced in 2021. As it relates to quarterly trends, M&A activity picked up significantly in Q4 following steady deal flow in the first three quarters of the year. The uptick in the last quarter could, in part, be attributed to interest rate cuts and growing confidence in the macroeconomy.
Key trends in Global Packaging M&A in 2024 include:
- FPackaging M&A activity fell in H1 2024 when compared to H2 2023 levels, with 151 deals announced through the end of June. Despite the slower start to the year, activity picked up in the second half of 2024 as 29 deals were announced per month for a total of 171 recorded deals in the period
- From a cross-border perspective, deals involving two foreign buyers accounted for 170 deals during the year, which was over half of total packaging M&A activity. Domestic activity added one additional deal compared to the prior year, accounting for 106 announced transactions
- Strategic buyers had an active year with 170 deals tallied, or 53% of the deal volume. Financial buyers reported slight declines in volume when compared to 2023 as private equity platform and private equity add-on acquisitions declined by two and one deal year-over-year, respectively. 2024 was the first time since 2020 where strategic buyers outpaced financial buyers in activity
- While many subsectors experienced steady activity year-over-year, both the Machinery & Distribution and Protective Packaging subsectors witnessed considerably more activity in 2024 with gains of 17 and nine deals
Overall, Global Packaging M&A continued its upswing in 2024 from lagging transaction volume observed in 2022. Domestic activity remained steady during the year, matching the prior two years’ levels while foreign activity has elevated in the same period. Deal flow picked up in the final quarter of the year following interest rate cuts and heightened economic confidence, which is a trend we expect to continue into the first half of 2025.
